Los Angeles Lakers: 5 reasons they are lucky Detroit Pistons turned down Alex Caruso

The Los Angeles Lakers tried to improve their title chances at the trade deadline by offering Alex Caruso for Derrick Rose. Lucky for them, the Detroit Pistons declined and they avoided losing their young up and coming point guard.

By this point Alex Caruso‘s rise from G-leaguer to a Los Angeles Lakers fan favorite is well documented, and for good reason. It is rare to see a player go from an undrafted afterthought to receiving more All-star votes than some of the well-known stars in the league.

Sure, some of those votes might have been for comedic value, but Caruso has earned his place in the NBA and on this team that is destined for a deep postseason run. That is why it would have been a travesty to give up on someone who has been a homegrown overachiever, for someone who is well past the prime of their career.

According to a report earlier this month from the Athletic’s Shams Charania, that is exactly what the Lakers tried to do. They apparently offered a package involving Alex Caruso and draft compensation for Derrick Rose, which was thankfully rejected by the Detroit Pistons.

Derrick Rose is a former MVP, so obviously he is a way better one-on-one offensive player compared to Caruso, but in terms of fit with this particular team, they are incomparable. Caruso is currently one of the Lakers’ best perimeter defenders and the Lakers do not have very many options other than him and Avery Bradley to lock down opposing guards.

At this point in his career Derrick Rose is not locking anyone up on the defensive end, and in the 2017 regular season, he proved to be clunky fit when playing alongside LeBron James and got traded because of it. He would certainly provide some much-needed scoring and shot creation from the guard position, but that would not be enough to get rid of everything Caruso brings to the table.

It seems like the Lakers feed off of Caruso’s energy and every time he makes a big play, which is often, the entire Lakers bench gets out of their seat and ignites. He adds to their team chemistry tremendously, and those intangible factors are big reasons why it would have been a mistake to make this deal.

Last season it proved to be a mistake to trade young guys Sviatosalv Mykhailiuk and Ivica Zubac for more proven veteran players like Reggie Bullock and Mike Muscala. This deal could have been a similar situation, but lucky for the Lakers the Pistons did not make them pay for almost making the same mistake again this season.

Here are the five big reasons why the Lakers should be glad that they did not get rid of Alex Caruso at the trade deadline.